


Deformed

by loni_meow



Series: Jedtavius [4]
Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: Assault, Bruises, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Hallucinations, Holding Hands, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, This is me exploring what kind of things could maybe happen to Jed and Octy's bodies, Trauma, and then my idea became fluffy and worth a write, if they can get a kind of bruise or something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24810979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loni_meow/pseuds/loni_meow
Summary: His body was the most deformed, his mind being a close follow up; still, the only thing he could actively worry about in that moment was if Octavius would still find him handsome if he ever saw what was hidden beneath his clothes.
Relationships: Jedediah & Octavius (Night at the Museum), Jedediah/Octavius (Night at the Museum)
Series: Jedtavius [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1343524
Comments: 37
Kudos: 164





	1. Hurt

It hurt.

It didn't make sense for it to hurt so much; they've had a car crash before this happened, for fuck's sake, and even though it also hurt, it was _not_ like this.

Not that... permanent.

Jedediah's mind was rotating, his eyes were unfocused, his body was cramping and all that together was urging him to change into a position that wouldn't hurt him so much. But hey, he was _still_ sitting in Gigantor's pocket, and he'd already changed his position a lot, and he _knew_ that if he'd dare to do it another time, Octavius would become suspicious of what was going on with his partner.

He didn't want the Roman to know that he'd been badly hurt, that Kahmunrah inflicted such an amount of damage on his body that it stayed; it stayed through the rest of their fight, it was still there and might stay forev-  
No, no that couldn't be.   
It'll be gone by the next night, he would regenerate for sure after not being alive for a daytime.

"You're hurt, my friend, I know it."  
Jed flinched at the soft voice that delivered those determined, on point words. He knew that if he wanted to have this to himself, he needed to change the topic, somehow; and to his luck, something came into his mind.   
"It's nothing pal, don't worry 'bout me," the cowboy then said, uneasiness dripping out of his voice.   
_Now I need to lure the conversation away from this topic._  
"I'm glad that you saved me, I don't know if I really would've been able to-"

"No need to thank me, Jedediah - you're my friend after all. Though, I can't help but feel like you're trying to change the topic."  
He knew it, he knew _him_ too good to miss this. Of course. It wasn't one of his best tries, either, maybe that was the reason.   
Jedediah looked away from the Roman, looked at literally any place in the pocket just to not meet Octavius' eyes or anything of him.   
He didn't like the feeling he was having, didn't like that self consciousness.   
He wasn't supposed to be like that - a good cowboy shouldn't feel self conscious.

Jed was almost panicking on the inside, panicking about the fact that Octavius _knew_ \- he knew that he was in pain, weakened, an easy target.   
_Hold on, hold on! Ockie is my friend, why am I still thinking some crap like that?,_ the cowboy threw into that chaos, the trouble he was having in there, in his mind.  
 _Because_ _ **you**_ _think you're weak, not enough,_ another one of his own voices in his head told him, and it was so much more convincing than anything else could be in that moment.

"Jedediah?" Octavius brought over his lips as if it was the most usual and easiest for him to say. It sounded so beautiful, yes, beautiful and gent-  
 _Why am I fantasizing about that now? I've just been panicking!_  
"I've told you, it's nothin' worth of any words or worries," Jed then replied, his voice still strained from all of his previous thought processes circling in his head with high speed, mixing his feeling into an uncomfortable mess.

"You're unwell. That's reason enough for me to want to help you, for me to worry," the Roman said, still in that calm, compassionate sounding voice. It all made Jed huff and roll his eyes, discomfort spreading through his body as he was trying to hide his nervousness creeping up on him.   
"You Romans and y'all's morals."   
Octavius just chuckled - damn, he wasn't supposed to find that funny - and replied, being completely unfazed: "You and your stubbornness. I know that you're not okay, yet you're not letting me help."

"I'm not hurt, okay?! I'm fine! I might have crashed into somethin' when I tried to struggle out of the cage, but still, it's okay now," Jedediah insisted, seeing how Octavius' hands shifted in his lap, seemingly about to reach for the cowboy's clothes to look if there truly was nothing on his skin.  
Maybe he was only overreacting, but just to be sure, Jedediah scooted a bit further away from his Roman friend.

"Well, if you're so fine, then show me," Octavius demanded, his voice showing all of that command that he had learned to convey in his sentences whenever he wanted to.  
And he did want to be really commanding right now.  
"Octavius! I'm not gonna strip or anythin' just 'cause you're throwing a temper tantrum about my well-being," the cowboy clapped back, throwing his hands up to figuratively wave them in front of the Roman's eyes, even though there actually was a light blush settling on his cheeks.

The request surely was a little... flirty, if one just thought like that in the moment. Of course, it was for his well-being, and Jedediah really shouldn't feel so excited about the idea of his Octy meaning it the _flirty_ way, because now, his focus should be thoroughly on the fact that he still needed to convince Octavius that everything way okay.

He needed to pretend that the bumps in his body didn't exist. As if the bruises he had against all the things he thought to be reason for him to not get hurt like normal humans, didn't exist, as if he didn't feel pain with every breath he took due to the points where Kahmunrah had grabbed him so roughly.

"Jedediah, I just want to be sure that you truly are not unwell. But I can't know that if you don't show me."  
Jedediah took a deep, deep, shaking breath, just as shaking as he did with his head.  
"No, no, no, pal. Even if I was hurt, maybe I just don't want you to see it? You need to be fine with that, anyways."  
He might even sound angry now. Hot headed. After all, Octavius was only trying to help, he knew what was going on, and here was Jedediah, rejecting all his advances because he was scared.

 _Pathetic,_ he murred inside his head, turning his head away from his friend, not even starting to look at him and his probably hurt expression in those warm, to Jedediah all too welcoming eyes.   
"Okay," Octavius said, and actually sounded like he meant it, "I overstepped some boundaries. It's okay if you really don't want to talk. I'm sorry."

"No, I-" Jedediah tried to get back at his friend, trying to stop him from worrying, which was the exact reason for him to suddenly start looking at Octavius, scanning his eyes to be sure that he wasn't actually overthinking too much. There was that worry again, that compassion, the offer of warmth that Jedediah had just heard in his voice, buried under all that strict, commanding tone.   
He was deeply filled with worry, looking at Jedediah with an unwavering steadiness.

And Octavius did actually not look hurt in any kind of way. Well, he maybe seemed a little more taken aback now, but there was no deep hurt by the harsh rejection Jedediah had clapped back at him. Or at least his Roman friend hurt it too well to leave him any chance to get a glance through the invisible facade.

"I-" Jedediah started again, but then sighed and rubbed his eyes, symbolically trying to get this trance, those gripping thoughts and his _pathetic_ way of tripping over his own words to vanish.   
"You don't have to," he said just in the same, understanding tone, that understanding that made Jedediah's mind spin.

He was so done with everything. Tired of it all, exhausted, this showing in the fact that he couldn't react nor form a sentence, he was only able to stare at his partner, a dumbfounded glare placed in his eyes. And there it was, the split in his wants; he needed to tell someone, after all it did traumatize him and it was maybe, hopefully not, but probably, going to stay for a while longer. A part of Jedediah perfectly knew that he needed support. And that Octavius would give him any support he needed.

On the other side, he didn't want the strong Roman general to see how deformed he was, physically and mentally.   
There, that's the thing. That's the fun fact behind all this, the surreal reality.   
His body was the most deformed, his mind being a close follow up; still, the only thing he could actively worry about regarding it was if Octavius would still find him handsome if he ever saw what was hidden beneath his clothes.

Jedediah wasn't even sure about the point in time at which he actually _started_ to care about whether Octavius finds him attractive or not. It was irrelevant at some point in there shared story, but at another point, it just seemed to have taken a full table-turn, leaving him with those self doubts easily floating around in his head.  
"Thank you for offering your support, but at the moment I just can't talk about it."

Now he at least answered partly honest. In truth, he'd rather talk to Octavius about it instead of having to be alone with it, but the repulsing feeling it gave him made it inevitable that Octavius would find it even more disgusting and repelling than he already did, at least to Jedediah in his self-conscious mind.

"I... can I still comfort you in any way without you telling me? I can't leave a friend alone in his misery," Octavius asked calmly, cautious of the fact that Jedediah felt so vulnerable and made himself even more vulnerable by letting that show through.   
"You can, pal, and you should do it," the cowboy answered, pulling his legs up to his chest to lean his head on there, facing Octavius, his arms, and thus hands too, hanging lose on the sides.

"I can hold your hand."  
"What?! Why?"   
"I-It helps. It's comforting. Trust me."  
Octavius was blushing now, as was Jedediah, bluntly staring at those shame-filled eyes, the uncertainty and nervousness he portrayed by the little fidgeting he had going on now. He inspected the reddened cheeks and found himself smiling quicker than he thought.

"Awwww, Oct-"   
"Hey shut your mouth, I'm only trying to help!" he tried, seemingly defending himself now, frustration and the staying nervousness leaking from his voice.   
That sentence made Jedediah's smile go away, his eyes still focusing on Octavius', but he felt how he literally just slumped back into himself.

There was the vulnerability again, the vulnerability Jedediah tried to shove down as well as he could. He remembered the hand, the fingers around his whole body, crushing him audibly. He literally still had the sound of his bones or whatever was the equivalent of it in his case being pressed together, he heard his body crushing. He couldn't breathe again, felt those tears claw at his eyes.

Jedediah took a sharp breath, trying to get out of his dumb head showing him these dumb memories without any damn reason.  
"Hey."  
Octavius was still looking at him. He must've seen that progressing in Jedediah's head. He must be seeing those tears at the moment.  
"I- uhm... Would you really do that... With... with your... y'know, your hand, and-"   
_Oh god. Oh holy shit, what am I doing? Am I completely off the road now?_  
Jedediah had the initial reaction of taking it all back again, but then, Octavius smiled.

Yes, he smiled, and it was so _comforting_ , so _reassuring_ that Jedediah felt better immediately. Or at least, felt a little more steady with himself.  
"Here," the Roman said as if it was the most normal thing he'd offer to his friend, reaching into Jedediah's direction, but stopping close to his friend's body, leaving him the decision to eventually take it.

And Jedediah did. The moment his hand graced Octavius', he felt a warmth pulse through his whole body as he held onto it.  
Octavius traced his fingers over his palm slowly and gently, focusing on touching Jedediah in the most intimate way the cowboy ever felt anyone touch him, making it almost... actually hot.  
Yeah.  
Nah.

Jedediah tried to press those feelings under the others he had. Yeah, he'd rather have the fear again than deal with... those... feelings.  
Then, Octavius intertwined his fingers with Jedediah's and put a still soft-feeling pressure on it.   
This felt like something Jedediah would want to do forever. The warmth, he wanted to feel that forever.   
He wanted to feel Octavius' skin on his forever. It soothed him. Feeling those fingers tracing his skin. The soft way he was pressuring his hand.

"Thank you," Jedediah muttered, still glaring at their joined hands, now relaxing into the touch even more. His negative, fear-filled thoughts had been terrorizing him the whole flight, but now, right now, Jedediah felt... peace. At least enough to say he could finally calm down.

"Thank _you_ for trusting me."  
"Sappy today, aren't we?"  
Octavius chuckled and Jedediah joined in, shaking his head.


	2. Agony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me longer than expected, tho this actually is pretty much my fault this time xD that's what you get when I start watching another show and get drawn into it qkskwkjs

It really hurt like a real wound, exactly like it did in the memories of his real counterpart.   
It was a state of agony to Jedediah. No matter how he moved, even if the plane or Larry himself did it, it started to hurt all over again. He sometimes felt like he was drowning in a feeling of numbness, only to feel those metaphorical knives cut through him again whenever there was some movement coming through.

The only thing that was grounding Jedediah in the better part of reality was the firm grip of Octavius' hand around his and the fact that he didn't need to hide his pain anymore. Not towards Octavius, at least. He knew that something was wrong, and yet they could just seek comfort in each other without asking questions.

"You know," the Roman suddenly started, ending the comfortable silence that had build up between them, "I was really afraid of losing you."  
Jedediah turned his head towards his friend, directly meeting his warm eyes. He was about to chuckle about that remark, but then saw in Octavius' face, saw in the way his glare was fixed on him.   
"What? You think I'm joking?" the Roman then mocked half-heartedly, while the other half was completely real confusion about Jedediah's reaction.

"I- well. I could've seen you joking about it, I guess-"  
"Woah, that's insulting now. You know I mean everything serious," Octavius countered, rolling his eyes before cracking up the same second Jedediah got the joke and laughed with him, still feeling a little nervous and wondering if Octavius _really_ didn't mean that serious.

Jedediah could barely hold back an annoyed sigh at that worry, could hardly hold back the urge to cover his face with his hands and let it be. This seemingly unending self-consciousness, the pain, they both just felt like they were effectively putting him in a state of agony, both mental and physical.   
"I see you're losing focus again, Jedediah," Octavius then suddenly said, his hand becoming more prominent as he pressed it harder to have Jedediah pay attention to the fact that he was being supported.

And it still felt so _good,_ that hand tangled with his, and Jedediah couldn't suppress an actual smile and quiet sigh of relief at the touch arriving more and more clear back in his mind.

"I told you that me holding your hand would help you," the Roman quietly said, grinning widely, what Jedediah saw out of the corner of his eyes.   
"It's groundin' me, yeah..." he admitted, turning his head fully away again to hide the heat that was spreading into his face as he returned the growing pressure, experimentally gracing Octavius' skin with his thumb this time, basking in the feeling of _touching_ him, something he never thought he'd desire to do like he did right in that moment.

A part of him really wanted to go for it and hug him again, press his body close to his, touch him more than just like this. They hugged after they'd won the battle, yes, and it was amazing, if Jedediah was honest with himself. He just enjoyed all of it except for the pain that had been coming back into his mind since the adrenaline was getting less every moment.

Another part of him was insisting that it would be just plainly weird. This was weird already, the hand holding was weird; but another hug? The second so shortly after the first? He wasn't sure if that wasn't going to be... suggestive.  
Well, maybe he actually _wanted_ it to be suggestive, maybe he wanted to _suggest_ something-  
But he shouldn't. Couldn't.

Agony. This was agony. He didn't want it, he didn't choose this - agony.  
"Am I... can you tell me how badly your pain is?" Octavius asked cautiously, probably still thinking back to the moment Jedediah had lashed out at him for asking him to admit and show it all to him.  
"Yeah, why not," Jedediah huffed, looking back to Octavius, even right into his eyes, "it's... very bad... I can barely move, not even breathe most of the time without my body hurting."  
"Where does it..." the Roman tried, but must've been so shocked by Jedediah's statement that his voice died with the first attempt, "where does it hurt?"

Jedediah lowered his head,shortly thinking about just dismissing this topic already but sighed shortly, feeling like he should at least answer _that._

"Everywhere."

Octavius shifted into another position, scaring Jedediah a little due to the sudden movement - the cowboy had been the one to be shifting around, not his Roman friend, thus he didn't even expect him to do it anytime soon.   
But he did, and it caused Jedediah to look at his face again, slowly beginning to curse himself for not being able to decide if he wanted to avoid or look at Octavius' face.

"... What?" Jedediah wanted to ask with his voice full out, but his insecurity cut in and transformed it into nothing more and nothing less than a whisper.   
"Everywhere?"   
"Everywhere."   
"Jed-"   
"No."

The cowboy suck in a deep wave of air through his teeth, rubbing his temples, "I don't want your pity."  
But he _did._ He wanted Octavius to pity him, wanted him to put Jedediah under his care, wanted him to tend to the dents in his body. He _wanted_ it so badly, but he couldn't let that happen. What would that mean for him? What would that make him? How would their relation change? What would Octavius truly think?

 _Ugh, there it is again,_ Jedediah thought and rubbed his temples even harder, so much it actually hurt, while Octavius seemed to be speechless and unsure because of the statement he'd just gotten thrown against his head.   
"I don't want you to feel belittled," Octavius emphasized, staring right into the blue eyes of his friend, "I want you to feel loved. Cared about."

The way Jedediah sucked in his breathe again made Octavius fiddle with his fingers in pure nervousness of Jedediah taking the statement the wrong way.   
But the cowboy understood, and took that _loved_ too far in his head, resulting in him blushing, but this time Octavius was allowed to see it. He was allowed to know that he... that he flattered him.

Octavius blushed at the obvious sign that it touched Jedediah in a way he may or may not had intended.   
"I really want to tell you, Ockie. I want to feel better and I do know that you can help me with that. But I... the words don't... I dunno, I just-"   
"You've been assaulted, Jed. Heavily injured. It's okay, don't explain yourself to me. Just do when you're ready, be sure that you can _always_ talk to me," Octavius responded, freeing him from his misery of trying to find the right words.   
"Thanks..."

There was a moment of content, comfortable silence between them, until they heard the machine land on solid ground, shaking a little doing so, what made Jedediah groan in pain, holding the worst of his injuries with his free hand while grabbing Octavius' hand even tighter. It felt like he was going to pass out any moment.

"At least we're almost there," Jedediah laughed between clenched teeth, looking over to Octavius who sat there with a furrowed brow and a worried look into Jedediah's direction, not even really laughing at what he said, just being unhappy about the pain he even more obviously was in.

As they actually had landed though, Jedediah took a deep breath, trying to get rid of his tension, cracking his knuckles to get going with it.   
"Can you... can you even walk? Now that the adrenaline wore off, you know..."   
"Yeah, I know what you mean, and I don't know if I can... My hips are quite hurt too, my legs are kinda fine... I really don't know, honestly..." Jedediah muttered, sighing at the end before rubbing his eyes with his free hand, trying to get away from the obvious exhaust he was harboring.

"I can support your body or carry you if you want me to," Octavius offered genuinely as they felt how Larry must've gotten up and started to walk.   
Jedediah looked down to his feet and bit down on his lip, tapping the fingers of his right hand onto his thigh in consideration.   
"What will the others think, though?" was the thing Jedediah settled on, showing Octavius that he was actually agreeing to the offer but had his insecurities about it all.

"That you got really hurt but fought despite everything. Really, Jed, the worst thing they could have is worry. We all like you, and those people of yours don't stand behind you for no reason. They won't ridicule you for needing help once after all those times you came out of situations like this ungraced," the Roman told him, almost actually scolding him for even thinking he could be seen as a loser or something by the others.

"That sounded quite convincing," the cowboy admitted immediately over seeing Octavius' eyebrows rise due to him losing himself in his thoughts all the time. "I'd like to try out if I can walk first, but if it doesn't work... I'm fine with being carried then. I really ain't gonna put myself into more pain than I already am."

The expression in those warm, brown eyes softened, and Jedediah lost himself in them once again, felt completely embraced, even tugged in, by that comforting warmth they were giving him, the welcoming vibes he gave him made Jedediah really want to talk about it, vent to his source of security in a forest of insecurity that had planted itself in his mind. And while all of that happened, they still held hands.

...

It _was_ painful. Standing on his own feet the moment Larry let them down, after already slightly wincing at the smallest contact with his human sized hand. If it was out of pain or memory of the human sized hand that had done this to him, was something Jedediah couldn't quite clarify through his clogged mind.  
He also just didn't have his clarity point anymore, since he definitely wasn't holding Octavius' right then and there, trying to at least keep his sentimentality hidden for the most of this time.

It was making everything worse though, the fact he had nothing to grab onto, no one he could ask to help him right away because he wanted to _prove_ he could do this regardless of the fact that what Octavius had told him sounded like a very logical and welcoming idea. But no, he wanted to prove this - probably just to himself.

But it hurt like hell, it hurt like swords were sticking in his body everywhere he could even imagine one of it having been stabbed in there, accompanied by bullet wounds and something like fire that was rushing through his blood, making it boil.   
With a hand sign, he quickly sent off his men to follow the other exhibits, trying to take a miserable step. At least that one, miserable thing.  
Octavius sent his people off too, turning his head around to Jedediah, raising his eyebrows.

"Have you tried enough? I think I should carry you now," the Roman suggested, bending a little over to be sure that he was in Jedediah's sight so he could get the demanding look.  
"Aw, come on! Look, it's workin', I can do this crap on my own," the cowboy dismissed, tensing his muscles already to try and make a perfect step, just the step he probably needed to get into it again.

Yeah, no.  
He fell, and he fell in such a hurtful way, that he could suppress his useless scream at the last minute. He basically just broke down into himself, his muscles giving up and leaving him to the ground. He could see it, could feel how he'd fall onto the hard, merciless ground and it'd hurt so much he'd totally embarrass himself-

He felt himself falling until he didn't.  
And he didn't because Octavius had a firm grip on his body, firm, but still gentle enough to not actually hurt him.  
"Octavius?" the cowboy asked perplex, squirming a little in his grip. Not exactly because he was more hurt due to it, no, really not, just the closeness and intimacy that was created by the Roman pulling him back on his feet, face to face with him.

Jedediah'a legs trembled viciously as if they were just waiting for him to be not supported anymore and just let him fall right back to the ground, end what they had started.  
But Octavius looked at him, and he smiled, smirked even, held his friend with his arms all around his body.

Jedediah blushed as he felt Octavius' breath on his lips since it was a whole new sensation he never even expected to ever feel _and_ enjoy. But it was comfortable and he could've stayed there, and if it wasn't for his embarrassment that made him turn his head away from his friend, his eyes lowering to the ground in shame, he would've stayed there as long as possible.

"I think that was enough walking for today," the Roman just whispered, and Jedediah couldn't help opening his mouth to try and resist, but decided that he really was better off with the Roman's help. Despite that, this was a good reason for him to experience some more of touching Octavius, feeling his warmth, all that sappy stuff he had raging inside him.

"I don't think you can carry me, actually," Jedediah said completely honest, turning his head back to its original point so he was staring right into Octavius' eyes again, feeling his breath and might even go as far as saying that their noses touched.   
"Oh, is that a challenge?"   
"Maybe it- AH!"

A growl came from the blonde, a growl of disapproval as he crossed his arms over his chest, pouting at the Roman who was now holding him in that Bridal Style thing.   
"Rude. I'd have liked for you to wait until I finished talkin'."  
"Oh really, just shut up you adult cowboy baby. Am I gripping you too hard?" the Roman mocked, even though true worried seemed to leak through at the last part, while he was already walking into the direction the others were going too, the place they were going to hide until Larry had a plan.

"It's very much adequate, thank you" Jedediah shot back, fighting the urge to move around a little and make this harder for Octavius as a joke. But he already was making things harder by existing right now, no he might leave that chance for some time later.   
It was kinda funny, sitting there and enjoying being carried as warmth spread through him and he could stare at Octavius with him not noticing because he was busy trying to find a way to place Jedediah somewhere in their hiding place without putting him in more pain than necessary.

They got that accomplished though, much to Jedediah's approval, and thus, after a short last talk, Octavius had to go to his Romans. The cowboy honestly wanted to overthink himself and the meaning of life again, but sun rose faster and more powerful than Jedediah would've expected it to do, and just out of nowhere, he was free of the pain before losing consciousness.

For just a moment.   
A moment without agony.


	3. At Ease

Octavius awoke, his body still standing right where he had left it, just his mind coming back in place. He felt fresh like all of the exhaust he had after the past day had just blown off with some of the thing he'd use to call sleep.   
The fact that it was very likely that Jedediah was still feeling really bad or even worse now that the pain settled down even further struck him like a merciless shock to his very core.

He shifted his glare towards the crowd of cowboys that was also awakening like he did and heard a low, seemingly suppressed groan coming from exactly that area. It may be something he imagined in his worry for his friend, but since they weren't that far away from one another it could very much be a thing that really happened in that moment.

With a sigh, Octavius turned around and searched for the Roman in the crowd that he saw as the closest to the next best respected general they had, finding him after a few moments of searching. He was still proud of the fact that he knew his people so well that despite them wearing pretty much the same armor, he could find that one guy in the whole crowd. Though, well, he was one of his closest friends after all, you _tend_ to find those people faster.

Rushing through the crowd and feeling relieved at the fact that he, as the general, was getting a quicker pass out of respect, he ended up at one of his dearest friends and put a hand on his shoulder to take his attention.   
With a small flinch, Cornelius turned around and raised an eyebrow, not wasting any time on asking first, just letting Octavius do the talking since it must've been very obvious that the Roman was in a hurry.

"I need you to watch over them for this night, is that okay?" Octavius asked, cracking at least half of a smile for that close friend.  
"Sure. Are you going to see Jedediah?" Cornelius asked back, raising his other eyebrow with the first he already had.  
Octavius' eyes widened and he felt that his cheeks must've been a little red at least at the heat suddenly floating into them at the audible implication his friend put into that sentence with his tone.

"We agreed on looking back on the rather upsetting events the last night brought upon us to find our closure with the whole topic," he tried to dismiss with an voice as normal as he could make it sound.   
Cornelius laughed and just patted his shoulder before dismissing him with a short hand gesture before turning around and starting to talk to the others around him.

Satisfied, the General took a deep, deep breath and took his way back, walking even a little faster, not wanting to leave Jedediah alone for longer than he really needed. He wasn't doing that because he thought the cowboy wouldn't be able to manage himself, he just didn't _want_ him to _try_ managing it all by himself. He had no idea of the dimensions of the injuries, but he had seen a hint at the pain he was in, and that was enough.

And he knew that admitting to his problems really wasn't something Jedediah liked the most, so it was Really special that the Roman knew at least a part of it, and he felt like he had to back that trust up even more.

It was good that he was there, or at least that was the feeling he was getting from the glare Jedediah shot at him the moment he seemingly had heard him coming. It was filled with a slight wall of tears almost hidden behind his eyelids and the widened expression that had his pupils blown with pain.   
"Ockie," he fought out, trying to smile through it all and seem as normal as he could with his pals all around him, not exactly saying, but wondering if he was okay again.

"I'm going too take you with me now, if that's okay," the Roman said softly, placing a cautious hand with a soft grip on his friend's shoulder to reassure him that he was still there for him. The way Jedediah's legs trembled and his arms were slack against his body made him question if it didn't actually get worse over the day - he looked exhausted and in agony a night before, but now it was like his body really was at the point to give in any moment.

He was really pale, shooting a glare around his crew before nodding silently and taking an unsure, slow step towards Octavius, reaching out with his hands a little to make sure that he wouldn't fall to the ground if his legs gave up.   
When he was close enough, Octavius immediately reached out and put his arm around Jedediah in a supporting way to lift his weight a little while they were trying to walk together.

"I feel like I can't even talk anymore," the cowboy hissed as they were far away enough, almost in the pretty dark corner they were aiming at, his teeth obviously clenched as he closed his eyes, "it got... worse."   
_Knew it,_ Octavius thought, pulling a grimace before sighing and trying to get rid of his own tension.   
"I wish I could do more to help, but I didn't even know that we could get hurt that badly and with that much effect on our pain receptors..."

Jedediah huffed, raising his hand in a try to stop them both, which was instantly understood as Octavius stood still in the next moment.  
"I... you already do a lot, okay, pal? Don't beat yourself up 'bout this," he said, putting his hands on Octavius' shoulders all by himself and all without thinking, it seemed.  
Maybe he had a thought, but Jedediah wouldn't really touch him that much if it wasn't for anything very important like winning the Battle of the Smithsonian.

Octavius slowly put his hands on Jedediah's and gave him another, gentle smile, seeing how he seemingly relaxed even more and his legs seemed to almost give up as that happened. It was very heart-warming to see how his touch immediately put Jedediah into a state of comfort through all this misery he must be feeling.

"I can carry you again," he said quietly, squeezing the hand that were still on his shoulders, as he intertwined his fingers with Jedediah's and picked them up from his shoulders to just regularly hold them.  
"I'd like that," he admitted, looking over his shoulder to make sure they were far away enough from the others.

But this time it was different.  
He tensed when Octavius grabbed him, and he hissed when he put even more pressure on that grab to be able to carry him right.  
He fought for air, as if the whole process had already knocked it all out of him, too many wounds being hit at once.  
"I'm sorry-"  
He stopped only because Jedediah, still trying to breath, shook his head and shushed him with a hand gesture.  
He cramped, clutching at his clothes as Octavius rushed through the rest of the room to get to their destined area.

It was really bad, even though the cowboy found his breath again, he still winced whenever Octavius shifted his hand around or felt like he had to grab harder because he would fall down otherwise.  
He really hurried, and even though he felt a little weird running through the area with Jedediah in his arms looking like he was dying in pain, the wish to get him to sit down and not move any longer was bigger than any insecurity about the looks of what they were doing.

"We're there," the Roman said shortly before really taking a deep breath himself, slowly getting Jedediah to stand back on the solid ground again, his feet still shaking as if he was in only a skirt in deep winter.  
No, Octavius _definitely_ didn't speak out of experience.  
He did think out of experience when he urged Jedediah to sit down by pressing down his shoulders, still supporting him whenever he threatened to go down too fast.

"I dunno know what the fuck is going on," he started, exasperated, "it's worse. It just got worse. Whenever I move, I can't breathe. It's suffocating me!"  
Octavius looked down at his friend for a moment, contemplating, before taking off his helmet as he slowly kneeled down.  
"What're you doin'?" Jedediah asked quietly, unsure, questioning.  
"Easing your breathing," the Roman explained shortly before placing his one hand on Jedediah's neck, or more like, the part that was actually exposed to him, while his other hand was placed on his partner's chest.

"How is that gonna-" Jedediah started, nervously shifting beneath the Roman's strong hands, this time seeming actually flustered and not in pain, flustered by the closeness of his friend as Octavius scooted even closer with his legs so they were basically face to face.   
He was cut off by himself sucking in air though, as Octavius had pressed down on one specific muscle in his neck, it giving in and easing down exactly under those knowing, experienced fingers.

Octavius didn't really sense anything of that, he only heard Jedediah's breath hitch and basically restart after that.  
"Yes, good," he muttered, his other hand roaming up the cowboy's chest to find the point he was searching for to ease his muscles around his lungs.  
His thumb wandered over to the front of Jedediah's throat, pressing down just a little, making the owner gasp and take a deeper breath again, especially since the fingers on his neck pressed down at the same time.

"Better?" Octavius asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked up to Jedediah through his lashes.  
"A lot," Jedediah answered, biting his lip shortly as he let out shivering waves of breathes but also took the same amount in again. He was way more relaxed, and Octavius smiled in his own little victory.  
"Where did ya... learn that?" the blonde man asked, trying to regain a little of his muscle controls after being so easily handles just by a few fingers on his neck.

"Some people in Rome could do that. I think nowadays it's called acupuncture," he explained, retreating with his right hand from Jedediah's warm skin.   
"I know another point on your chest that eases your muscles so you can breathe. But I'd need you to take off your upper half of your clothes.

His first instinct was to say yes, of course, wanting to see what else Octavius would have in store for him, but on the other hand, he couldn't just... Yesterday he still had said that he couldn't deal with it at the moment, saying yes now would be... weird, wouldn't it? Also, what if he'd directly see one of those wounds?  
Jedediah bit his lip, and saw Octavius seemingly pick up on the whole thought process with just a simple glance.

"Okay, don't worry, you don't h-"   
"I want to," the cowboy shot out, lifting himself up a little so he could start taking his clothes off.   
At least he didn't have to remove anything as innocence-keeping as his pants, and ignoring the wounds he had, what could go wrong? It was just him letting his _pal_ touch him in all ways he wanted as long as he just _didn't stop touching him_.

He fumbled with his clothes, pain still making his limps feel useless and sore, and it took only a few moments until Octavius basically had to involve his own hands into this, gently pushing Jedediah's away just to start undressing him bit by bit as if giving him that acupuncture stuff wasn't enough already.

As much as Jedediah saw it happen, feared it happen, nothing hurt as much as the literal moment Octavius saw something on his bare skin that didn't belong there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't feel good about this chapter idk


	4. Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter is a little shorter than the others, but it just felt better to end it where it's ended. Enjoy the boys being all in love and stuff :3

Octavius just stared, frozen in his tracks. He didn't say a word, really, and Jedediah wasn't sure if he even breathed anymore, that's how frozen and disturbed he looked.   
His hands were hanging in the air, and his eyes went up and down on the blonde's body, seemingly not grasping that this was _rea_ l.   
Jedediah couldn't help but freak out at the silence that had gotten into place between them since Octavius had gotten into statue mode.

Suddenly, Jedediah understood what exactly Octavius was seeing, the disgrace that his body was, the ugly bruises and dents spread across it.   
His eyes watered involuntarily and made it hard to even see the frozen expression on Octavius' face. But he knew it was there, and that made it so much fucking worse.   
He shouldn't have let this happen. He shouldn't have dragged the Roman into seeing this. God damn it, he shouldn't have acknowledged the whole thing in the first place.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you shouldn't have seen this, I'm so-" the cowboy tried saying, literally freaking out while doing so, trying to get his clothes back on as fast as he could, but the bruises making sure that he didn't get really far anyways without groaning in pain. He sank down against the wall he was sitting at in defeat, letting the tears roll down his cheeks, his breathing flat and shallow.

Octavius' mouth was pressed into one thin line all of the sudden and his eyes grew from monotone into straight up cold and hateful, and Jedediah shrunk even more, every sob sending a wave of pain through his whole body because of the movement.

"I can cover them up again, but please don't leave me. Octavius, please _talk to me,"_ he basically begged, still obviously crying from what he was experiencing in that moment as the Roman "feeling resentment" towards him.  
"Who did that to you?" Octavius suddenly asked, his hands moving again, but not towards the wounds, but more towards Jedediah's face, reaching in to cup his cheeks in both hands, making the cowboy look at him.

"I told you, I t-tripped-"  
"Those are fingerprints, Jedediah, I'm not stupid. Did Kahmunrah do that? The man you protected me from? Did they- oh Jupiter," Octavius started suddenly, sounding furious before he stopped talking with a little worried, pain-filled whine, "did they choke you?"

Suddenly Jedediah felt those warm, gentle fingers touch his neck and the bruise there, making him shudder and take in a sharp gasp.  
"Okay, yes, yes, it was them. They choked me, yes. They grabbed me really hard, this is why my body is kinda... deformed," the cowboy gave in, the tears being replaced by a slight blush settling on his cheeks moment by moment.

Octavius stared at him, completely baffled and confused, a brow furrowed, making him still look a little angry. But now Jedediah didn't feel threatened by that anger anymore, knowing that this was definitely not directed towards him.  
Without any other word, Octavius learned forward and put his arms around the trembling figure of his friend, pulling him as close as even possible.

"It's going to be okay," the Roman then said as Jedediah shortly shuddered at the feeling of his rather cold armor on his bare skin, before melting into the hug and sighing. His shoulders sank down in relaxation and he trusted himself to close his eyes and lean his head on Octavius' shoulder without it being weird.

"I'll ask Ahk and Larry about this, about what could help you. Maybe this is something special that we need something special for to help you get better."  
Jedediah nodded frankly as if that was the only thing he could do anymore.

He digged his fingernails into the softer material of Octavius' clothes beneath his armor and tried to steady his breathing, especially since he gasped again and had to resist jumping away in surprise when he felt the Roman's hands wander down his body.

"It's okay, I'm just doing what I wanted to do from the start," Octavius then whispered into his ear, and somehow, Jedediah just couldn't help succumbing to the voice that was tending to him, leaning into him even more as he started to massage a part of his chest on both sides.  
It suddenly felt like something inside his chest shifted and stopped holding in the air he wanted to desperately get rid off for new air.

Jedediah took in a deep wave of air, feeling as if it shattered and freed his lungs at the same time.   
"Thank you, Oct," he said with a quiet, yet more relaxed voice, taking in some more deep, deep breaths as he still felt Octavius' warm hands on his sides in contrast to the rather cold air surrounding them.

"No need to thank me. Do you want to take your clothes back on, or is it less painful like this?" the Roman then said, leaning a little further away from the cowboy to be able to look him in the eyes.   
His half lidded, blue eyes still seemed unfocused, but already a lot better compared to before, as he just basically fell forward again and leaned his head onto Octavius' closest side of his shoulders.

"I don't want to do anything," he voiced quietly, yet more confident by the moment, which was why the Roman just chuckled slightly and put a hand into the beautifully messy blonde curls he was kneading through now, holding Jed where he was as long as he seemingly wanted to.  
He leaned down with his head a little, removing his hat and giving the cowboy a short yet gentle kiss on the top of his head.

Jedediah felt himself blush, or at least interpreted the heat that was creeping up into his cheeks as said thing, especially when he heard how Octavius gently put his hat on the ground, not planning to stop caressing him as much as he even could.  
His warmth was basically everywhere again, and this felt like the real sleep Jedediah hadn't had in the day they spent as normal exhibits.

"You're beautiful, Jedediah. No matter what, nothing could make you less handsome whatsoever," Octavius suddenly murmured into the environment, clearly saying it to Jedediah but also clearly not, almost sounding as if he was daydreaming.   
But it caused Jedediah's heart to beat faster and faster and faster as his gut seemed to throw some kind of celebration at those words.

His hands wander down from his hair over his back, the right hand also slowly gliding along the slight curve of his body, the hands meeting again at the cowboy's hips.  
"Tell me if anything I do makes you uncomfortable, I'm just trying to distract you," Octavius said, sounding distracted himself. Distracted by the tension between them that one could probably cut with a simple sword by now.

They were totally getting carried away in just touching each other and listening to their own fast heartbeats, Octavius exploring more of Jedediah's skin with every moment as Jedediah got to feel at least a bit of the Roman's skin on his arms since he was lightly grabbing them.  
Not for the first time that night, they basked in each other's warmth and breathed only quietly and only whenever they really needed to so they didn't disturb the moment.

It was only when Jedediah looked up from his position, looking Octavius straight in the eyes, that the Roman realized what was really happening right now.   
They were so close to each other that they could feel each other's breaths, and Octavius knew that he only had to come a little bit forward with his head at this rate, and he'd be kissing Jedediah.

Kissing Jedediah... That sounded so good in his head, that Octavius couldn't help but feel even more tempted to do so. Kissing and feeling those soft lips with his own, feeling his skin under his hands, and done was his perfect imagination of how this could go.   
On the other hand, Jedediah was most likely just in a dizzy status with all the panic that had risen up to his head, mixing together with his pain - he couldn't exactly say that he thought the cowboy to be emotionally stable enough to decide what was right for him in that moment.

So he gently but his hands at the blonde's chest now, pushing him away slightly, making a grimace at the feeling of seperation from their shared warmth, but yet going through with it.  
"You're not in the right state of mind, Jed. I'm going to get Ahk and Larry to take a look at this whole thing now, and then we'll probably find something that can help you. Okay?" Octavius then muttered, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at Jedediah and the possible disappointment on his face.  
"O-Okay. Should I stay here?"  
"I think that would be good, yes."

And with that the Roman stood up, Jedediah's hands leaving his clothes now, falling to his sides with literally no control in them, just falling down to their usual place.  
As Octavius looked again, the last thing he saw was the pure confusion that spread in Jedediah's face as if he'd just waken up from a trance because said trance moved away from him.


	5. No End

It wasn't difficult to find Ahkmenrah, it honestly wasn't. With all those different cultures and colorful clothes around, the Pharao still managed to stand out. And it probably was because he was, in fact, the Pharao. Even though Ahk was nice, young and very helpful, he had this feeling of authority around him that made Octavius admire him at some times when he felt bad about himself.

Some people seemingly just don't have to do anything to give off the feeling that they want to give off.   
Nevertheless, Ahkmenrah was a great friend. No matter how much he felt like some authority, he was a friend. A companion. A good help and a humorous man, great to spend time with. Octavius had a good view of Ahk, and he hoped that Ahk had a good view of him.

He also hoped that Ahkmenrah knew something about their ability to gain wounds from violence. Or why it was there now and hadn't really ended in any consequences before this one. And it seemingly had only affected Jedediah, since they all had fought and stuff but... maybe it was the grade of pressure that he'd gotten onto his body, maybe they couldn't really get stab wounds or anything but instead they were sensitive to pressure? Maybe something like car crashes didn't apply enough pressure on specific points, but being in someone's hands like that did? It could be possible.

Octavius, while finding some reason in his own string of thoughts, shook his head at himself, trying to concentrate on finding the Pharao rather than thinking about solutions by himself. Ahk still was the most reliable source after all.  
And maybe if he simultaneously looked for Larry, he'd find Ahk even faster. It was just - where Larry was, Ahk was too, or at least nearby, especially in rather unhappy situations as the one they were currently being in.

And Larry wasn't exactly looking like any of them either, with his weird uniform and dumb flashlight or whatever it was that he was carrying around with him all the time. So Octavius really just had to find two people who stuck out from the rest of the crowd.

Honestly, how difficult could that even be in any kind of situation?  
Octavius had to think back to the things that happened in the last night, with the act of talking to that giant statue to get him to help the others. He'd known that he alone couldn't make a difference, and he was angry and knew about Lincolns good reputation, so why shouldn't he have tried?  
Getting out of the grass was as difficult as getting through this crowd, if he was completely honest, and he hoped that gaining Larry's and especially Ahkmenrah's attention at least wouldn't be as complicated as it was with the president.

He could do it, he'd proven it. Especially for Jedediah, he'd do stuff like that at anytime.   
Thus, he kept on searching, and almost directly became successful as he saw Ahkmenrah's outfit poke out of the mass of exhibits having fun together, finding relief in the fact that they were home.   
And with him, as Octavius had predicted, was Larry. Right next to him, seemingly heated about the topic they were talking about, and if Octavius saw the Pharaoh's face good enough, he was definitely seeing a concentrated expression.

Set on ignoring the seemingly urgent topic going on in their talk, because at least to him, Jedediah was way more important than anything else in this world, his heart racing as he felt like every moment went to waste that he could use to help his friend.

Being stepped on by the bigger exhibits was also a problem Octavius would do anything for to vanish and never occur again because it took precious time, but he decided that he shouldn't care for now and just get through with it.

Before even really arriving at the two, Octavius called out with a strong voice, screaming their names to their faces.   
Larry flinched in an instant, while it took Ahkmenrah one solid moment longer to actually work through the information that Octavius was there somewhere, screaming at him.

"Octavius? What's going on?" Larry then asked, already leaning down a little to make sure to be able to listen to his tiny friend.

Octavius frowned for a moment, considering if still feeling offended by the fact that he had to kneel down to understand him better made sense or if he should just... ignore it.   
Ahkmenrah came down to his knees too, way more graceful than Octavius thought anyone could do something so quick as kneeling down onto the ground.

"There's something going on with Jedediah. He... yesterday, he got hurt. The... for real hurt," the Roman explained loosely, thinking about how to further inform the two about what was happening without giving everything right away, thinking that Jed might be uncomfortable with that.   
"What? But that never happened before, not even when you two had a car crash," Larry answered, saying the exact things the general had thought through before, too.

Ahkmenrah was just listening by then, a slight frown as his eyes looked as if he was spacing out.   
"I know, I was surprised too... He has really bad, deep bruises and something like... I don't know..."  
"Dents?" the Pharao then suddenly interrupted as Octavius had been trailing off, nodding to himself as he saw the shocked face the tiny exhibit made.   
"Yes, that comes close to it," he said, a defeated tone in his voice, "I don't know what to do. He has a hard time breathing."

"Dents? Hey, that seems so reasonable to you two, might someone elaborate for your poor night guard over here?"  
Ahkmenrah freezes for a moment, seemingly thinking of words, while Octavius used the time to cover his face up in his hands, releasing a rather tense sigh.

"So, you know, Teddy could survive being basically torn in half because that's a damage a wax figure can get that way. That's why it worked when Sacagawea used melting wax to get him back together and he was fine after that. Now, Jedediah and Octavius are not made of wax, you know, diorama figures are made with a different material. That's why I figure that this is the kind of damage Jedediah's body, and Octavius' too, for that matter, can take when inflicted by a lot of pressure at one point, especially in the form of dents. The fact that he's bruising is something else, but I think you've got the point, Larry."

He looked terrified, to say the least, and Octavius quite honestly had to refrain from laughing at that expression. Sure, it was terrifying, quite honestly, but seeing Larry like this could never fail to make Octavius laugh, even in situation like this one.

"Yeah... Yeah I've got the point. I guess. But what can we do to help?" Larry then asked, coming back to the question Octavius tried finding the answer to by coming here.  
"From my experience... nothing," the Pharao said with a quiet, exasperated laugh, "normally, humans would throw exhibits away that have taken damage in some way."

"That's _not_ going to happen," Octavius growled at that, not necessarily angry at Ahk, but honestly upset at the whole idea of this, "he's not some little damaged toy that has to be thrown away! He's our friend!"  
"I know, Octavius! Okay? I know!"

Larry was just staring at their conversation, as Octavius could judge by glancing to the side rather frequently, before the night guard himself pulled their attention all to his words by clearing his throat before saying something.  
"Maybe we should just take a look at it, first? Ahk?" he suggested, putting a hand on the still heavily frowning Pharao next to him.  
"I'll show you where he is. But he's really not in the best condition," Octavius said, now actually _feeling_ and not only sounding defeated.

Jedediah would not like the fact that they'd take a look at his wounds, but even in this numb state, he'd know that it'd be for his best. Octavius was sure about that, he really was.

The way to Jedediah's current location was all quiet except for the moment Larry offered to carry Octavius on his hand, what the Roman gladly accepted. It was easier this way, anyways, and he honestly envied the two tall men for their better sight of the room.  
He honestly did.

When arriving at the corner he had left Jedediah at, his heart jumped a beat as always when he saw Jedediah, now especially, since he looked so small and just tired. Very tired.  
"I brought Larry and Ahk," the general said, trying to find the balance between not being too loud and being loud enough.

He saw his cowboy friend jump a little and it hurt his heart, him wanting to just run to Jedediah and hug him, telling him that he'll be fine soon, especially when Larry put him down onto the ground again.  
"Can you breathe properly?" Octavius asked Jedediah then, and his face fell even more when the other one shook his head, gulping so audibly that the Roman could her it from where he stood.

"Hey, is it okay if I take a look, Jed?" Ahkmenrah then asked calmly, making him look up and then nood tiredly, acknowledging Larry's existence next to him too with a short flash of a smile.  
The Pharao leaned down and gently shoved the clothes so far back that he could see everything as good as possible, not being able to suppress a shiver at the sight he was greeted with.

"That's worse than what I expected. They put a dent into your throat, like, here," he explained, slightly touching the curve that shouldn't be there, while Jedediah froze and could breath even less at the feeling of a normal human sized finger on his throat, sinking into bad memories until Octavius gently sneaked his hand to Jed's to intertwine their fingers.

"We could try, like, pressuring your neck so it might straighten out the dent, but that would hurt a lot and might fail, too. But if it stays like this, you can forget breathing normally and speaking in general," Ahk explained, his finger vanishing from the cowboy's throat just as his pulse sped up and anxiety sweat found its way onto his face.

"There's no end?..." Jedediah croaked to everyone's surprise, sending himself into a coughing fit as he tried to not throw up by the pressure in his body, calming down a little as he felt Octavius' other fingers touch his chest again, easing his breathing with the things he'd done before, too, no shame visible about the fact he was touching him like this.

It truly got worse by the minute. It got worse as if his body had to first realize the real damage all of this had taken on him, the damage he truly had and would probably have forever now. Could they truly risk something like popping the dent back into normal? It sounded so honestly absurd and disgusting that he just couldn't imagine it, even if it might be his only chance.

"I'll do it. I'll try and fix the dent on your neck," Larry suddenly interrupted the uncomfortable, unsettling silence, looking as if he'd had the best idea ever as everyone looked at him with pure surprise, "because I can do so when you're not alive."


	6. First Step

Larry stared down on the figure in his hand, sighing as he, now that he knew about it, could perfectly see at least the dent in his throat region.  
Now that they were renovating the whole place since McPhee had agreed to his idea, he did have the time to come down here and do what he had promised to the two miniatures and Ahk all together.

His heart was definitely racing and his hands felt sweaty, knowing that this was a very important task for him. Even when he was battling Kahmunrah, he didn't feel quite this sweaty and unsure.   
Well, maybe it was because that moment was so much more intense and threatening to his whole crew of friends than this might be, so his brain had justed stopped working, really.

Now it was quiet and all on him, holding this figure in his hands to try and free him of that torturous dent in his God damn throat.   
He felt it, followed it with his thumb, wondering why this seemingly just had to happen. And why it had to happen that he also had to be the one who rids him off this outrageous dent.

He couldn't get the image from his head, the other dents he had been able to see, and most likely, the way Jedediah had tried to breathe, failing mostly and constantly fearing suffocation.

Larry had never thought he'd see him in that way, like, ever. That whole time he'd been at the museum now, he'd never seen something like this at all. Of course, there was Teddy in that one night, but somehow this seemed so much more troublesome and traumatic than anything else.

After all, he knew that Teddy would be fine if he'd gotten melted back into one, being made out of just wax had this advantage. But he couldn't for sure say if Jedediah would be fine after all this. Figures made with the material he was made with usually are rather robust, that was true, yes, but they also often could take permanent damage by this much pressure.

He really didn't want for Jed to have that kind of permanent damage. But it might as well be inevitable at this point since he'd waited a day and became an exhibit again before even speaking up - or more like, Octavius speaking up - about the problem.   
He knew that Jedediah basically already had permanent damage on his mental health.

It was so weird, it truly was. Seeing him so distraught. Even stopping to play it off, just letting it through for once. A weird, yet not exactly unpleasant feeling. If it wasn't for the cruelty this had been caused by.   
God, Larry really didn't want to be the one doing this. He wanted to help Jedediah, of course, but... he felt so torn.

At the moment, the cowboy was just a liveless exhibit, but he couldn't bring himself to think of him as just that for the moment, even if that would've been easier.   
"This is so bad," Larry just whispered, rubbing his eyes with the free hand for a moment, until he focused again and tried to fix this whole thing by getting his mental shit together and preparing to put pressure on the back of his throat to even it out.

He looked around in the room, once again checking if truly nobody was actually watching and judging him for this, no matter how much of a good deed it actually was. He was so scared of McPhee entering the room and seeing him with a deformed exhibit, popping in its throat that, in his eyes, he must've deformed in the first place. Not to mention the fact that those exhibits were hidden here in the first place.

No one seemed to be looking at him and McPhee also didn't seem to be coming into this place rather soon, so Larry should feel safe.  
He did not, though, because he just then noticed how even now, Jedediah's expression was that of someone having massive pain. Frozen into that status.

"Jesus Christ," he growled at himself, shaking his head.  
Larry just closed his eyes then, following the "just don't look at it" thought that had just come into his mind. His finger was at the right place already, so what could go wrong, right?

And after taking one deep breath, trying to just breath away the face of Jedediah that he had just seen, focusing on just putting pressure with that one finger-

It happened. He heard a little noise as the dent must've gone away, at least a little, the neck evening out, too. He did it, he finally did it.  
Hesitantly, Larry opened one eye first before the other followed as he relaxed in pure relief.  
It looked better. A little irritation was still there, but it looked a lot better. It looked good enough for Jedediah to breathe, at least. At least that.

"I did it, I fucking did it," Larry whispered to himself, suppressing the urge to scream "yes!" so loud that the whole area around the museum could hear it. Instead, he inspected Jedediah again, looking for the other dents he had seen on him that past night. He wasn't supposed to put them in place, that would be too risky - who knows how it would feel for him when he comes to life again?- after all, he only did _this_ because _this_ was absolutely necessary.

Deciding to actually leave it at that, he put Jedediah down next to Octavius who also still had that worried expression on his face.  
Larry stared at the two, especially at Octavius expression, the fact that they seemed _this_ close in general.  
He'd seen this kind of glare, and that time was with Sacagawea and Teddy. Almost exactly that kind of expression that she had for him, Octavius has for Jed.   
And that the first two were in a relationship now made Larry think, staring more intensely at the Roman and the cowboy.

At the time he started working at this place, he would've never thought that there would be any couple in this museum, he truly thought that all of those people were so focused on creating chaos that no one would actually fall in love or anything. But then there was Teddy and Sacagawea. And now, apparently, there will be Octavius and Jedediah.

Now that he was thinking about it, Larry felt like he should've been able to see it even earlier on. At least that Octavius had and still has a thing for the cowboy, that should've been clear since he really wasn't hiding anything. And for as much as Larry could analyze things like this, Jedediah didn't seem to reject him in any way.

After all, Octavius got help on his own, completely alone with almost no way to defend himself. Still, he tamed a squirrel and managed to get Lincoln to the museum where everything seemed to get more and more fucked until they showed up.   
He did it for the others too, that was right, but the biggest part of his motivation came from saving Jedediah. The shock because of seeing Jedediah caged, probably.

Even at the time of their rivalry, it seemed more like a different kind of tension between them, not what Larry knew from his own experiences with arguments. They always seemed to be so physically close to each other whenever Larry saw them, even if they seemingly hid that under the cover of fighting.

He really should've seen that before. But now he knew, and he felt like he should give those two a little bit of privacy even if they weren't alive in the moment. And also, he should really just try to arrange his solution so that his friends didn't have to hide in this basement for too long anymore.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Jedediah knew that it worked when he took his first breath, coming back to life again.  
The fact that he was able to take a breath and not pathetically fight for it was actually what gave him that conclusion in the first place, but the fact that he felt the rather nice air in his lungs also did his part.

Nevertheless, he couldn't do anything, any motion really, to celebrate this since he couldn't help but collapse onto himself once again.  
"Shit," he cursed, and then, suddenly, those strong, warm arms wrapped around him, stabilizing his balance on his own legs.

He felt a hot breath on his neck and just had to shiver, chuckling just the slightest to cover up that this affected him more than it should. Octavius was so close, he could feel the other's body, and it got even weirder inside his chest when a gentle hand wandered up to the cowboy's throat, caressing it.

He couldn't help but sigh and tilt his head up a little, giving the Roman more space.  
"That looks better," he muttered relieved, inspecting it a little more with the blonde next to him being stuck in a mix of tensing more and relaxing more, "how are you feeling, Jedediah?"  
"I'm feeling-" he started, but then stopped in his tracks for just a moment at his ability to breathe _and_ talk, "good. Feeling good."  
 _Too good with you close to me like this._

"I'm glad," Octavius then said quietly, almost whispering into his ear, making Jedediah actually blush just the slightest bit as he then changed his position so he was supporting the cowboy, but standing more at his side than behind him.   
There was some silence between them as Jedediah slowly looked up to stare Octavius right in the eyes, cracking a smile to not show how truly smitten he was by this whole situation.

"Why do you... why did you..." Jedediah then tried, struggling to say what he meant, but relaxing under the rather calming smile his friend wore on his lips.   
"You put yourself in danger to help me."   
"You heard me?"   
"Saw you, too. You went o-onto some field out there a-and just decided that hey, this r-random man you've never known could help. What if something had happened..."

The cowboy winced at the shame he felt upon hearing his voice sound so worried, just entirely weak even. Mentally weak, not physically, making it even worse.

"It's okay, Jed. I couldn't have been able to watch you get treated this badly any longer. You're the closest person I have and thus, I will always treat you like that."  
He really wanted to slap Octavius for those words. He did feel flustered and very happy about the fact, that he was this important to him, but he didn't want for him to risk his own health ever again.

"Hey guys," Larry suddenly said out of basically nowhere, making both of the exhibits jump a little, "sorry for disturbing your talk."  
Jedediah couldn't help but blush once again, astonished by the fact that this simple sentence could make him feel like this while Octavius seemed to be completely fine and calm about everything basically.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're feeling better now, Jed," Larry then elaborated, and the cowboy had to smile cheekily this time.  
"Of course, pal. My throat and neck are as good as new. I can finally breathe again..."

Now that was different.  
And now he had an even stronger urge to just let Octavius take over control over him, guide him, and Jedediah didn't know what that meant for their relation.


	7. Wondering

Jedediah sat back, leaning on the wall that Octavius had suggested for them to go and stay at, Larry promising them that this was going to be the last night down here after getting all of the exhibits together after checking up on Jed.

Saying that, at the end of this night, they could go up and right to the places they'd always stood in. Right there. At their homes. That they wouldn't have to hide away like this in the darkness anymore.

And as much as Jedediah desired to finally be back in his diorama, knowing there are some places he could actually rest at in a comfortable way, he knew what else the end of this change would mean.  
He'd have to be a full functioning exhibit, having to imitate one of those weird digital moving copies that could be made of people. But as of now, he could barely even stand or _walk_.

Jedediah knew that it was going to be a disaster for him, and it was going to stay a disaster until he finally figured out how to heal those disgusting bumps like the one Larry almost completely fixed for him to breathe.

There was this possibility that Larry could do the same thing for the other bumps, but if he'd had unterstood it the right way, then there was this unsettling knowledge that it would hurt AND might not work. On top of that, the night guard walking around, popping back dents in an exhibit's body would look a little... suspicious. Like, of course, you would also be quite confused by someone having to do said thing to an exhibit that should not have any way of getting those dents despite by the person itself.

So, they had to find another kind of solution for this problem, and hey, modern problems require modern solutions, right?   
Jedediah turned himself in. Right into Octavius' caring grasp. All he'd seemingly wanted those last times he'd been awake now.

He gave in before, but not on the personal level this was one.   
Now he was there with Octavius, and he was carefully stroking the cowboy's side, making sure to still not hurt him though.

So, either they'd find a solution or Jed might have to stay hidden in the diorama until this has gotten better.   
But then, there was the question - _would_ it even get better on his own?   
Jedediah rubbed his still tired eyes with one hand, hoping that Octavius wasn't realizing that he might as well not be that fine.  
Yet, the Roman must've noticed the movement, letting out a quiet sigh as he scooted even closer to his friend, surprising Jed, since he didn't think there was any _closer_ than what they already were. Yet, it was still so unbelievably comfortable.

"What are you worrying about?" he asked then, his voice low and content, sending a small shiver down Jedediah's spine.   
"I'm just wondering..." _how it's possible that letting you take over is so easy,_ "y'know, I'm a bit concerned about the fact that we gotta be moving around and all that when I ain't even able to walk properly."

There was a moment of silence, Octavius nodded, and then went back to softly touching Jedediah to not hurt him, making him melt for him just more.  
"We'll hide from those people until you're well again," the Roman whispered into his ear in a cunning tone, "If we truly want to stay hidden, they won't find us. I don't think that people will notice if we're gone."

Jedediah grinned. No matter how bad he felt, the idea of sneaking around with Octavius made him feel better anyways. He still had this feeling of defeat inside his chest, not knowing if following that statement, they'd ever actually return to being normal exhibits.

Octavius would ultimately get sick of it, wouldn't he?  
"But I don't know when or if I'll be fine..."  
There, he said it, and he felt how the Roman next to him froze and tensed a little, sighing once again.  
"We'll manage, Jed. I'll always support you, and somehow, someday, it'll work again. Trust me. And trust your body."

As for emphasizing, Octavius put his hand on the cowboy's chest and put a little pressure on said hand, Jedediah just decided that he didn't need his dignity, leaning against his Roman's shoulder in return, his arm sneaking around Octavius' side too so they were actually holding _each other_.

"I was really scared in the hourglass, ya'know," the blonde then started, feeling the brunettes confusion seep in his veins at his sudden seeking for closeness, "at that point, the last time I would've seen ya in my life would've been when I kicked your ass for you to get outta danger."

Octavius giggled at that, and Jedediah couldn't help but laugh about that himself.  
"I'm glad that this wasn't the last time you saw me after all."  
"Mhm," the cowboy hummed, snuggling a little closer to his closest friend.  
"I would've conquered the whole underworld to save you."  
"Is this a competition now?" Jedediah chuckled, quietly and calmly, playing with Octavius' clothes on the side he was holding him at.  
"It may be," the Roman then said, still in the little sarcastic tone he had before the last thing he'd said. The very serious thing about what he'd do just for Jedediah to live.

"Hey, Oct... uh..."  
He scooted away a little just to look at his friend, blinking a little perplex as to why he himself just searched this spell.   
He stared into those warm, brown eyes, the ones that were caressing his heart just with the expression shown. A weird feeling overtook Jedediah as the reason why he wanted to look at Octavius, the original thought, became more and more clear to him.

Avoiding those soft looking lips was something Jedediah had to use all of his willpower for, though a part of him really just went "just go for it" regarding everything _one step too far_ that he wanted do to Octavius at least once.

Like kissing him.  
He really wanted to kiss the Roman, cradle his beautiful face and feel his warmth. Wanted to bask in everything he represented.   
"I..." he cut himself off, licked his dry lips and accidentally let his glare fall down to his companion's lips.   
Just accidentally.   
Just for a little moment.   
And he heard something shuffling, a smile gracing those soft looking lips.

Then suddenly, Octavius leaned forward, put a gentle hand on Jedediah's cheek, reaching a little back to his neck to slightly push him forwards, and Jedediah's body just listened to the language Octavius was speaking with him.   
Their faces were getting so close, so close that Jedediah couldn't help but notice how Octavius slightly closed his eyes, looking so unbearably beautiful doing it.

The cowboy lost all the control he had and put up a hand on his friend's neck, guiding him forward very quickly, and their lips connected in a passionate, long-wanted kiss.

It was crazy. Jedediah would've never thought that he'd end up kissing a man, he just... it just didn't seem possible. But Octavius warmth, his sweetness, the way their hands were exploring each other's body, ruffling their hair, their lips just in a harmony with each other, and he felt better than ever.

Everything tickled, every pain went away, blown away by the feeling of _embrace_.

Octavius, he felt it, Octavius had longing hands and longing lips and quiet hums and sighs that would've left Jedediah speechless if he wasn't already so deeply sunken into the kiss that speaking had become a no can do.

Time felt like it never existed at that moment, resulting in Jedediah not knowing how much time had went by that they spent passionately, yet gently kissing, embracing, longing for warmth in their little corner. The amount of time, however long it was, was pain-free all the way through, giving Jedediah another kind of release that made everything even better.

They panted a little, gulping and swallowing their speechlessness away, or at least trying to. Jedediah kept his eyes closed, and so did Octavius, as they were just quietly basking in all they had.  
"I... didn't... think you'd go for it," the Roman muttered in a tender tone, caressing Jedediah's blonde hair with his calm hand.

"I hope it was okay. Been some time since I kissed someone," the cowboy then joked, chuckling a little before Octavius joined in.  
"It was really good..."  
Octavius sounded like he was trailing off away. And Jedediah, worried as he might even be in moments like that, opened his eyes.

The warm brown was radiating even more warmth than usual. There was admiration, love even.  
Love.  
Octavius _loved_ him.  
Jedediah took a breath that sounded very much breathless, ironic as it was, only to feel how tears formed in his eyes.

"I love you," he whispered so utterly quiet, "God, I love you."  
It almost hurt, the love he carried for his Roman friend. The love he'd only just noticed for really real, and now it was weighing down on his heart in a positive kind of way.  
Octavius made a noise of disbelief. Happy disbelief though, as if he could believe his luck.

"I love you too, Jed... I... can't believe this is happening..."  
And then, Jedediah just kissed him again, this time more strongly, resulting in Octavius being just slightly pinned against a wall, Jedediah's hand cupping his cheeks.

He broke the kiss, eyes closed, only to give his love a few other hasty kisses.  
 _I'm wondering..._  
"Can we be... can we be together? Officially? For real?" Octavius muttered, hugging him tightly, as tight as possible without hurting him, still not believing.  
 _I'm wondering..._  
"Oh... Oh, what," the cowboy responded, shaking his head.  
Too good to be true, but then he nodded anyways. Nodded and returned the tightness of the embrace.  
 _I'm wondering..._

They truly were hugging rather than kissing or anything, just holding each other, keeping the other safe, all those things.. Protection. Making sure that this was real. Really real.  
And hey, Larry surely wouldn't suspect anything if he'd find them, maybe even napping together, lost in a dream world only about the happiest dream of their life.

Because Jed and Octavius knew, they knew as they embraced each other like lovers for the first time If kissing and the passionate hugging, the other made them the most happy.  
 _I'm wondering..._  
"How did I deserve you?" the blond man laughed, burying his face in the crook of Octavius' neck, kissing him just slightly to see him squirm.

_It'll be better now, right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAA THERE IT ISSSSS


	8. Another Truth

"You guys are ready to go - I can bring you to any place you want. Your dioramas, probably, I doubt you'd want to stay here," Larry then said to the two that currently were cuddling, or at least leaning against each other in their little corner, both of them starting to smile at those words despite everything.

"We could take a hot bath over in the Roman Diorama, if you'd like to. It could ease your muscles before we have to go to our positions," Octavius offered then, Jed seemingly thinking about it for a moment or two before agreeing - only he knew that the things he had just considered regarding a bath were more than just about his injuries... God, he felt like a hopeless person, and yet there was Octavius, who slightly blushed all of the sudden as if he catches onto something in his thoughts.

Larry didn't seem to notice, though; he picked them up and brought them back up, out of the dark room, like he had said.   
"A bath really doesn't sound bad," Jedediah said, turning his head to smile at Octavius, taking in the sight of him still looking slightly flustered.   
"Great," the Roman then answered, as they heard Larry groan, both looking up with confusion.

"Guys, I'm still here, you know?" Larry asked then, looking down at them in his hand, raising an eyebrow.  
"I still need to know where exactly you want me to bring you."   
"It'd be great if you could just let us down at my diorama," Octavius then said, ignoring the way Jedediah was about to talk back in his usual manner.

He definitely couldn't hold back a smile at the thought that, no matter how bad he felt, as long as he could speak, Jedediah would talk back to any mocking of any kind.  
Someone could probably cut him in half and he'd still be arguing with them and trying to fight back with everything he can do.

Octavius shortly looked up to Larry before he cautiously put a hand upon Jedediah's, entangling their fingers as he looked into his love's eyes, happy to feel how his gesture was directly returned.  
There he sat, on Larry's hand, and they hold each other's hand without him really noticing since he was kind of focused on his surroundings.

All the exhibits were finally getting back to their places after all, excitement rang through the whole place.   
Jedediah couldn't help but smile fondly, just realizing how much he truly missed this whole place, how much he'd desired to actually come back up here. He'd almost found his peace with the fact that, hey, maybe they'd have to stay at the Smithsonian forever, maybe they'd deal with Kahmunrah for eternity.

But here they were, back at home, and they were okay. Well, mostly at least.   
Jedediah wondered if he was the only one that suffered any injury - it wasn't impossible for him to be the only one, after all, he'd been the only one who had been directly at Kahmunrahs _mercy._  
Yet, the battle wasn't like anything they ever had before... Maybe he just really didn't want to be alone with his condition.

It was then that, before Larry could finally set them down to Octavius diorama, Ahk surprisingly showed up and made himself known with a little cough, clearing his throat.   
The night guard turned around, raising an questioning eyebrow at the Egyptian.   
"Oh, hey guys," he greeted Octavius and Jedediah, who both lazily just waved back to him. Yet, behind the smile Ahkmenrah was sporting, one could definitely see raging concern and a sense of urgency.

"Larry, I need to talk to you. As soon as possible," he then basically hissed before nodding in the directions of where his tomb was, before he went off into said direction, moving with body as tense as his voice had sounded.

"Alright," Larry just muttered, a little caught off guard by the suddenness of Ahk showing up, and the same suddenness with which he just left.  
"Then, guys, I guess I better get going," he added, looking down to the two exhibits on his hand, the two who seemed to be just as confused as he was.  
He quickly set them down, yet made sure to not hurt anyone of the two - especially not Jed - while doing so.

He watched for a short moment, seeing how Octavius gave Jedediah a little, motivational smile as he wrapped his arm around him to steady his walking.

Larry tore himself off of the view and followed Ahk in the direction he'd gone to, speeding up as he also felt an urge pool in his heart.  
Right now this whole thing was a situation none of them had ever experienced before, and every possible information was granted... even if it was negative, even that kind of information.

He walked around the last corner, finding Ahkmenrah pacing around in the area of his tomb, a hand at his chin, walking back and forth in thoughts.  
"What did you want to discuss?" Larry then asked, cautiously putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, who then slightly smiled at him.

There was worry though, uncertainty, a kind of restlessness.  
"I... well, I took myself to some reading, and..."  
He fidgeted with his hands, biting his lip.  
"I never thought that it's possible, but I found out that we - the exhibits - can die other than through the sun... In fact," Ahk started to tell him, Larry tilting his head, confused and questioning.

"We can actually suffocate... Even if we don't have the organ for that. That means I must've had a little air let through somewhere, or else I'd have died those years... And Jed could have died in the hour glass as well as through the wounds."  
"But how does that work?" Larry asked then, taking Ahk's hands to calm him down since he still was fidgeting around.

"Apparently, if we die in a night, our body stays materialized until the sun rises, then we'll fall apart into dust," the Pharao told him then, tapping with his finger on the skin of Larry's hand.  
"All those years, they could've died, and all because I couldn't tell them," he hissed, shaking his head, wanting to start pacing again, yet was held back by Larry's hands.

"Don't stress yourself about this - you can tell them now," he said, nodding at him, "if they managed to not die in all of those years without your guidance, they'll definitely be safe and satisfied with your guidance starting now."

Ahkmenrah smiled gratefully before shaking his head slightly.  
"Thank you, Larry," he muttered, seeming a little more relaxed, before he added, "while we can die in more human ways, physical damage also truly depends on the material we're made off. Like, the dents for Jed, and Teddy with his wax... Which also means that I most likely have the most human death possibilities out of all these beings here."

"Can you-" Larry started, then realized that his voice broke off, starting anew, "can you bleed?"   
It was then that Ahkmenrah turned around his arm, showing the inner side, a cut clearly visible, and indeed; there was blood running out of it.  
"I can."

He must've seen that Larry was up to asking something and jumped in, muttering a rather quiet, "Yes, I did cut myself to see what would happened."  
"That really means we have to be more careful in the future."   
"Or maybe we shouldn't."   
Larry frowned at him and the young Pharao shifted on his feet, unsettled, "I mean... I need your advice on this, Larry. If we tell them... if we tell them they might feel like their freedom is actually way more restricted than it was before. And it went fine... except for Jedediah, and we could tell them, but-"

"We really will have to think about that," Larry agreed, running his finger over the seemingly normal blood that has been drawn out by the cut.   
It really felt like there was blood of a normal human on his fingers...

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

It was extremely strange, the way Jedediah's muscles reacted - or more like, stopped reacting - when he just stuck his foot into the water.   
He had to control himself very intensely to not just break down on himself, warmth engulfing him as Octavius had turned away from him, shedding his pieces of clothing one after one.

Jedediah blushed madly, and he did so out of nowhere, immediately turning around as he unbuttoned his clothes on his own, quietly clearing his throat to get rid of the weird feeling he had.

"Are you sure you're comfortable?" the Roman suddenly asked, and Jedediah felt his blush rise down to his neck, probably reddening his whole body soon.   
"Sure. I'm sure about this. Could I go first, though?" he asked, grinning slightly as he looked back over his shoulder, hearing Octavius chuckle too. "Of course."

Jedediah sped up, doing his best to hurry into the bath at truly the fastest he could manage, trying to not make anything awkward.   
When he leaned back, water around him, soothing his sore body and emitting a sigh from him, Jedediah muttered 'come in'.   
Making sure that he wouldn't look up at Octavius as he also entered the warming water, Jedediah stared at his reflection.

There were some of his bruises, some of the dents, and he couldn't help but glare at them, hissing as he touched one that was on his torso under the water.  
He heard a little splash when suddenly, water was in his face and he couldn't help but laugh loudly.  
"Octavius!"  
"Look, if you really think I would let you sulk like that, you're entirely wrong."  
"Oh, just shut the hell up and come here," the cowboy then spat jokingly, a teasing grin playing on his face, a intense warmth spreading at the way Octavius actually listened and came closer.

It felt satisfying to see how the Roman was coming closer and closer, and then he suddenly was shoulder on shoulder with him - and oh, Octavius was still so very gentle, even with his God damned shoulder he still was only slightly pressing onto Jedediah's body.  
He couldn't help but sigh again when he felt soft, yet strong and knowing fingers pet his hair, now wet strands entangling with said fingers.

Everywhere he looked, he only saw Octavius. No matter what he felt, it was somehow related to Octavius.  
"I love you," he whispered then, his muscles relaxing even more, a promising sign.  
He turned his head a little to place a kiss on Octavius' lips, feeling him smile and sigh into the feelings they were sharing, before he followed his jawline done to his neck, the crook in said neck being the place Jedediah buried his face in.

His pain was now not only lessened by the love that was going through his body whenever he saw - felt, smelt - his lovely Roman, but also by the intensity the warm, almost hot water made his muscles truly relax.

He was taking in everything about Octavius he could take in like this, placing a little kiss on the skin right in front of his lips.  
He felt the Roman squirm under his lips, and it made him grin like a little idiot, knowing that this was his doing. This strong Roman general was here, all open to him, and Jedediah had at least this little control over him.

He leaned back, actually more leaning into his love's shoulder than anything else, just living in the moment of being tucked into warmth from every side possible.   
"I think 'm gonna fall 'sleep," he slurred, his head lulling back a little, and he felt how his tired body gave up any effort as Octavius chuckled lightly.

"Just get some rest."  
"Uh-huh..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, just messed a little with the lore! I thought this may be interesting and I'm definitely going to explore this even more if interest is there.


	9. Working It Out

Octavius had almost forgotten the compromise that Larry found to have them stay in the museum. The plan to have them act like holograms, to have them be ogled at by all those visitors.   
And despite everything Octavius tried, he could still see that Jedediah wasn't exactly doing well.

At least not well enough to pull this off, he was pretty sure about this.   
Jedediah had stayed with him after the bath, and they had huddled for warmth together, trying to find ways in which his pain could be eased, yet not finding anything that helped.

The bath had helped, that was right. And after Jedediah had actually dozed off a little, he seemed to feel less tense at least. Yet, it still wasn't... good. He still wasn't good, and Octavius was worried.

They had been sitting when the sun rose, neatly hidden away from everyone. And now they were waking up with the sunset, and he heard Jedediah groan unhappily.

"Where are we?" the cowboy asked then, rubbing his eyes until he realized and for some reason, blushed again before Octavius could even say anything.  
"Ah right, we took a bath."  
The Roman giggled at that and nodded then.   
"Quite a nice one, indeed."

The cowboy looked at him and then laughed as more memories of the prior night came in, slightly leaning against Octavius, "And I fell asleep. Must've been boring for you."   
"Ah, not really. I had to watch out that you don't accidentally drown while sleeping after all," the Roman retorted and couldn't help but tickle his boyfriend.

As much as he was cautious to not hurt Jedediah, the blond definitely used the knowledge that Octavius couldn't - or just didn't want to, he _could_ after all - go full on him.   
They tickled and shoved each other for a little while longer, chuckling and basking in each other's warmth and closeness.

But they had a job to do, a role to play, and Octavius knew that they had agreed to at least try in some way.  
"How are you feeling?" he asked then as they calmed down from playfully attacking each other, feeling the sigh it evicted from his partner more than hearing it.

"I dunno... It's not really getting better. I just kinda got used to it, I guess," he muttered and then got up on shaking legs, leaning his hand on Octavius' shoulder as he did so.  
He had been sitting for a whole day after all. Basically. As an exhibit.

He actually stretched for a short moment as Octavius stood up too, and then suddenly something popped in his back, and he groaned loudly.  
"Oh Jupiter- that sounded bad," the Roman then said, and Jedediah rubbed his back, still groaning, and thinking about just sitting back down.

"Shit, that actually really hurt," he hissed unhappily, and Octavius put a hand on his shoulder, looking over it to see _if there was something to see._  
"Hey - the dent in your back, that big one - is it still there?" he then asked, an eyebrow raised, hope flaring up in his glare as Jedediah frowned himself.

"Good question," he muttered, feeling for it, shuddering at the feeling of other bumps, before he actually realized that the searched part on his back was normally flat, no little dent from where his body was pushed in from the front.  
And his stomach - his stomach had gone back to normal at that part, too, flat at a place where he had felt something like a hole before.

"You- you fixed that one," Octavius muttered, his own hands now beneath Jedediah's, searching for any signs on what had just happened.  
"I mean- I had my hand on my back and pushed forward," the cowboy explained, his eyebrows still deeply furrowed as he shook his head.

They stood in silence for a few moments before Octavius squinted at another visible bump, and the leftover of the one at the blond's throat.  
"Maybe you could do the same with the other ones?" he suggested then, but immediately shook his head, "Larry did the same thing to the one on your throat - he said it's dangerous. Maybe we shouldn't... or maybe we could ask him."

Jedediah's attention was still everywhere and nowhere at the same time as he dumbfoundedly glared at the Roman, he himself still fiddling around with his hands, trying to tell himself that, yes, he just really managed to get rid of that one.   
"Maybe _you_ could do it," the cowboy then suddenly said, evidently surprising Octavius with it, "the ones I can't reach. I trust you and you have enough strength to do so."

"Jedediah - you _do_ know what that means, do you?" he basically hissed, a hand on his lover's shoulder, squeezing him to emphasize how big the meaning behind it was.  
"Of course. That's why I'm asking you," he answered then, smiling back, and seeing Octavius shake his head as if he just couldn't understand it.

The Roman stared at him as if he was insane, and Jedediah could only chuckle at that, patting his boyfriend on the head where the helmet would usually sit and cover his nice, soft hair.  
"It's okay. We have to get through this night out in sight, maybe tomorrow we could do it. So you can think about it," the cowboy then said, picking up the mentioned helmet to place it on top of Octavius' head, "I know that I want to, if you're okay with it."

The Roman smiled gently, making sure his helmet was sitting right, before he leaned in and kissed his boyfriend even more gentle. Almost like a feather touching his lips, and the cowboy couldn't help but press more into it. No matter how much the helmet was in the way, or how the red feather like add on tickled his forehead as it slid down a little, Jedediah wanted to feel those lips even longer.

But Octavius leaned back a little, breaking the kiss, and then picked up his partner's hat, putting it on the blond, almost golden locks, all the way smiling at this moment.  
"Thanks, pal," he heard as an answer, and then they both laughed, "I guess we should get out of here and pretend to be little- I forgot what it was called."  
"Holograms."  
"Yes, holograms."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Jedediah was definitely still walking with a limp. Not only that, he was _barely_ walking. Mostly being supported by Octavius, but being able to walk in _any_ kind of way was an improvement.

There were more people than what they had personally expected. And it was weird to know that they were seeing them just the way they were, living individuals - at least in the night.

There was no doubt that this whole business would end up being the best thing to happen to the museum - especially if everyone held up their roles and at least tried to pretend to be technologically made.

It wasn't easy to do so when you couldn't even walk on your own - but then, again, they were miniatures, and it was less likely for someone to notice how Jedediah was leaning onto Octavius, standing inbetween all those Romans in their diorama.

At least that was the sight before they decided to leave the dioramas and go somewhere, do something, be a part of the night but in a way that they could do it together.

A general and a cowboy - they were quite the weird and unusual duo if one thought about it. There were differences in how they speak, how they dress, obviously, how their counterparts had known and seen the world.

But they were both put into this museum, and Jedediah couldn't help but feel kind of nostalgic walking - limping - through the museum, Octavius at his side.  
They had barely done this - a lot of things had only happened down where Rexy's place was, and then there was the Smithsonian incident.

This was the start of a new era, and neither of them could stop feeling a little proud at what they had achieved.  
Even the animals were behaving with no exceptions in sight. And finally, they didn't have to be locked away anymore.

"Ah, how about we take the little plane over there and have a nice tour?" Octavius suddenly asked, directly pointing at a small, red plane standing right around the corner, as if some kid had placed it there and forgotten to take it back with them.  
Anyways, Jedediah's eyes lit up, and soon they sat in the vehicle, trying to get to the bottom of how the thing worked.

Jedediah, despite all the pain he was in, insisted on flying the thing and having Octavius sit in the passenger seat, taking his hat off in preparation.  
"It'll work, trust me," he said confidentially, waving off the concern he could already spot in the Roman's eyes.

.........

It did work.  
Actually, it worked really well.  
Both the Roman and the cowboy never sat in a functional plane like this. At least not with one of them having to fly the thing.  
But as it turned out, Jedediah was better with the plane than he was with the car.

He was honestly really good with the plane, and Octavius leaned back at times, enjoying the way the breeze of flying messed up his hair a little, creating the whooshing sound around his ears.  
Larry wasn't that happy with them flying around, but the kids they passed by (adults too, just not as evident) enjoyed the sight of two so very different kinds of exhibits sitting in a damned plane that none of them should know how to fly.

They probably wondered why they'd put this into a hologram - but then again, entertainment. Entertainment might be the best explanation for all the weird things happening in this building.  
They all had their own personality, so in a way, there still was this chaos kind of feeling - but now there were other people, normal people around, and they had to behave kind of exhibit-like.

Well, except for when you are Jedediah and Octavius.

"My real life counterpart would have freaked out about this," the Roman muttered, smiling at his lover, who shortly smiled back.  
"Oh yeah, mine too. _I_ am freakin' out. This is amazing! I can't even feel my pain that much anymore!"  
"Imagine flying over your home like this, watching it from the sky," Octavius laughed then as Jedediah almost did a looping, screaming in joy.

His blond, almost golden curls were also caressed by the wind, one of the happiest smiles in his life on those beautiful lips.  
"It has to be beautiful," he answered to that, sighing as he relaxed even more.

"We need to do this more often," the Roman then said, looking out over the edge of the plane, happening to watch Attila playing with a little child that was interested in his hair, showing it a magic trick.  
"True. You can fly then, too, if you'd like to," Jedediah returned, still wearing that sloppy, happy smile.  
"I think I'll leave that to you," the questioned man asked, chuckling at the annoyed side glare he was getting for the little mockery.

"I would have never thought that Attila would be good with children. Always thought it was going to be Ahk who is best at it."  
"Oh, Ahk? No, geez, he hates those little ignorant babies. I mean, not hates. But they never were nice to him, and then there's Attila, you're right."

They couldn't help but laugh at each other, at their conversation, at the happiness in their bodies.

Jedediah really couldn't feel his pain that much during those hours.


	10. Their Happy End

"This isn't safe and we should tell Larry before doing anything."  
"Octavius, this is totally safe, and you can totally do it without Larry knowing about it. I trust you."  
"I'm glad you do, really, I mean it, but look; it's your body, and you only have one and if I ruin it-"  
"You can't ruin it more than it already is! Octavius-"  
"Jedediah!"

Now they were silently glaring at each other, Jedediah with his hands on his clothes, ready to take them off and have Octavius do the work like he had already proposed yesterday, while Octavius' hands were on top of them, holding them put.  
"No," the Roman said, pulling the o extra long when the hands under his started to move, and Jedediah's stare got even more intense.

Then he leaned forwards, and kissed him gently on the lips, feeling lightheaded from Octavius also gently returning that kiss.   
Jedediah withdrew a little, just a little, and then managed to move his hand a little, opening his vest.   
"Just distract me while you do it. Nothing can happen, trust _me_."

The brunette sighed at this, rubbing his eyes as he shook his head, "that's not fair play, whatever is happening right now."  
"Please. If you really don't feel comfortable, that's okay, but you know? I only feel comfortable with you touching me at those points. When I think about a human sized hand... Even if it's Larry. Even if it's Ahk, Teddy, whoever it is, I get scared and I remember... what happened."

Octavius seemed taken aback from the sudden honesty, the way he went right to the point and confessed to feeling scared - but he didn't seem to be feeling any negative way.  
"Okay, I understand. I think I do. I just... wasn't sure whether you've really thought this through."  
"I have thought this through," Jedediah then, once again, emphasized, before he felt Octavius let go off his hands so they could do what they started to do.

He gulped when he saw the bumps, the dents, all of that, and if Jedediah didn't know that he was just nervous, he would feel judged, self conscious, anything like that; but honestly, the worry in those warm, brown eyes, were definitely those kind of worries that went towards Octavius himself.  
"I'd say you should better be standing against a wall instead of lying down or anything," the Roman then suddenly said, even after that moment of silence, grabbing Jedediah's waist and walking towards a wall with him.

This would definitely look wrong to outsiders if they didn't know what was happening. Which was probably why they were over in the cowboy diorama, hiding away in a little actual house that had been placed.

When Jedediah's hands hit the wall, him using it to be able to support himself later, Octavius had to gulp. He was so close, and he had him in this strong hold - everything was so warm and fuzzy and positively weird, especially when he touched Jed's bare skin.   
"Do you feel stabilized like this?" the Roman then asked, not knowing whether having put his armor off was a good decision or a bad one, now that he felt Jedediah's body heat so close to him, so very, very close.

"Yeah, 's fine. Gotta get through this anyways."  
Octavius sighed and then looked at all those bumps, thinking about which one on the back he should start with.  
Out of the very reason that he wanted it to be done in that area, he let his fingers travel down to the bump that was almost right above Jedediah's butt.

"That one right there?" the cowboy teased then, shivering as Octavius hesitantly tried putting pressure on it, pushing it back in track a little.  
"Starting down there, yes," the Roman mumbled under a breath of shame, trying to clear his throat in a way that wouldn't show how weird he felt about this whole thing.

He again didn't know if he liked or hated the noise Jedediah made when he did it, pressed into the bump to try and make it pop back into the right place, at least as far as it could get back into the original shape.  
He was groaning, in pain for sure, but he was groaning and Octavius couldn't help but let his head fall against the back of Jed's head, biting down on his own tongue.

"Come on," the blonde growled then, and Octavius accepted the challenge, put more pressure on it, strong and hurtful, and then the strange pop sound actually came.  
Jedediah made a strangled sound, and the Roman shivered with it, coughing to cover up that he almost choked on air.  
"Fuck, that hurt!" the blonde man cursed, and then hit the wall in front of him.  
"It worked quite well, though."   
"Really?" the question came, hands immediately reaching around to where Octavius' were before they went up to the next problem zone.

"Well, would you look at that! I knew it'd work," he said then, turning his head around to raise his eyebrows at Octavius, grinning like an idiot.   
This time the Roman squinted at the other man, and instead of saying anything, got onto the next bump, making Jed groan and turn around again.   
" _You_ were the one complaining about fair play," he complained then, clenching his fists against the pain, but Octavius just chuckled.

Apparently, they could even make this into a little fun game of theirs.   
"Aw, is someone being a bad loser?" he answered to that complaint, grinning completely self satisfied when he felt how Jedediah grumbled something under his breath.  
When it was done and Octavius took a deep breath to refocus, Jedediah suddenly turned around.

The cowboy and turned himself around and grabbed the Roman's shoulders, pulling face up to face, involving the other in a passionate kiss.  
"Mmh," Octavius tried to protest like he would actually try to do anything against it, only to let his hands wander down and push in another one of the dents on his stomach, something he was getting a feeling for. When it went into a normal position and Jedediah groaned again, the way his hands flexed at Octavius shoulder made him go rigid on the inside.

"God, that's what I meant with distracting me," Jedediah chuckled then, letting his head fall back to the wall, grinning afterwards.  
"There are only a few left," Octavius then muttered, whispered into his ear, and it made his boyfriend shiver.  
"Damn, you- I can't even talk anymore," Jed answered back, shaking his head at this whole situation.

Suddenly Octavius started kissing the blond's neck, placing soft, yet definitely demanding kissing on the skin there, making Jedediah squirm all over again - his hands started wandering, and he felt like everything was heating up, and Octavius couldn't help but gulp heavily as he found the next bump.   
He did it faster this time, more confident by then, getting it back in within one motion.   
Jedediah hissed loudly, and let his hands clench and unclench once again, Octavius chuckling at the feeling.

"What'chu laughing at?" the cowboy answered then, shaking his head at his lover, blinking erratically.   
"You," he teased then, and before the blond could react, he fixed the next thing.

Suddenly, whatever thing had been holding Octavius back, it snapped with all of this happening - he felt how him fixing this whole thing actually worked, despite the fact that it was still Jedediah's body that he was working on like this.   
"Fuckin' hell," the cowboy cursed then as Octavius turned him back around.   
"Larry will kill me," the Roman then muttered to himself, shaking his head in actual worry about actually being scolded by the man.   
"If you stop now, _I_ will kill you."   
"So I'll die either way?" he teased then, immediately catching the stare of death from Jedediah.

"Such a tease," the blond then muttered unhappily, hearing another rather loud laugh coming from behind of him where Octavius was still standing.   
"Awww, poor little you," came then as he worked on the next bump, Jedediah wondering how the hell he collected so many of these things. And when Jed just wanted to protest, the push came with a lot of strength and he couldn't help but let his head fall forward against the wall.

"Ouch," he hissed then, not knowing whether he commented on the pulsing of his body, all over the place, or the new pain coming to his poor forehead.   
This time, Octavius actually looked up and let his hand wander over to Jed's forehead, his warm and soft skin feeling so very soothing and nice that he almost forgot about all this pain.

"Are you still doing fine?" the Roman asked quietly, slightly kissing his neck.   
"Not that fine anymore," he answered honestly, leaning into the touch as a smile crept to his face, "but fine enough. I can finally rest normally after that. It'll be worth it, no matter how much it hurts right now."

There was another sigh, but Octavius kept his promise of continuing fixing the bumps as well as he could, trying to ignore the way Jedediah flinched more and more, and looked more tired and worn out than anything else in those moments - he couldn't help but flinch a little himself when the last one got in, both of them basically panting at that point, still pressed against each other.

"That's it," Octavius said then, he himself being a little surprised at how good it looked, almost as if there never had been anythinf weird with it, if it wasn't for the littlest bumps that hinted at what had been done to Jedediah's body before.   
"I think I'm gonna-" the cowboy started then, his voice shaking and collapsing in on itself, just as his body seemed to do in the next moment.

Octavius, who still had his hand around his boyfriend, caught him and managed to hold him up, making sure he wouldn't fall further to the ground.   
"That was really brave of you, to just let me go into it and all that," the Roman muttered then, running his hands through the blond hair as he slowly lowered himself and Jedediah down to the floor.

Outside of the house they could hear voices, familiar and unfamiliar ones, the ones that clearly belonged to visitors and others from the cowboys that Jedediah was the proud leader for.   
But right then and there, none of them could really hear the noise - none of them felt the hurry of being available for the nights anymore, not like they did before - Larry would know, and they could definitely cope without them for the rest of this night, even if they are their diorama's leaders.

"Hmmm, this is nice," Jedediah said, obviously tired and actually worn out, his body slacking all over the place. But no matter where it would've been unpleasantly hitting the ground, Octavius had his body there and was shielding him from literally any discomfort possible.

"I'm glad you think so," the brunette then answered, kissing his boyfriend's neck as he went, "we should talk to Larry and Ahk soon."  
"Yeah, soon, but not now," Jedediah answered, shifting a little against Octavius' chest, "not now."  
"Not now, indeed," came the answer, and a delighted chuckle could be felt coming from Jedediah.

"I really love you, Octavius, and I'm glad that this whole thing made it possibly for me to put it into words."  
The Roman did not necessarily expect the sudden honesty and almost overly romantic statement, yet that made the strong hug he was giving as an answer even more of a real reaction.  
"Ey, ey, don't squeeze me!"  
"This is what you just put yourself into!"  
"I didn't tell you to squeeze me!"

Somehow this turned into tickling, bickering and all the usual stuff, the pain quickly forgotten as Jedediah seemed to deal with the pain in a better way, not looking exactly worried anymore.

Octavius decided he liked it.  
Judging from Jedediah's look, he did too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go!!! The final chapter! 
> 
> I hope you guys liked this Fanfiction. I loved writing it, even though I struggled sometimes.


End file.
